Londoners are staying put in the capital as city dwellers buying countryside retreats hits its lowest in over a last decade, a property expert says.
Those from the capital accounted for 5.7 percent of home purchases outside of London in 2024 – plummeting down from 8.2 percent only two years prior.
Estate agents Hamptons boiled the shift down to non-London property price soaring twice as quickly as those in the capital since 2020.
Workers being summoned back to the office alongside sky-rocketing prices of non-London house prices also contributed to the slump of urbanites moving out.
London property prices have risen by 26 per cent in the last ten years, a stark contract to the 39 percent rise in house prices outside the city.
The figures were gathered by analysing data from around 650 branches of fellow estate agent Countrywide.
Londoners had previously escaped to the countryside in 2020 expecting working remotely would become permanent.
Londoners buying homes outside of the capital has hit its lowest level in over a decade, according to estate agents Hamptons (stock image)
Those from the capital accounted for 5.7 percent of home purchases outside of London in 2024 – plummeting down from 8.2 percent only two years prior
But as offices re-introduce in-person working as well soaring property prices elsewhere, this has firmly kept city dwellers in the capital, Marc Von Grundherr, director at estate agent Benham & Reeves told the FT.
Despite London having the lowest annual house price inflation, ONS reports, the average home in the capital is priced at £520,000 as of last October..
And even though Londoners setting anchor in the capital, first-time buyers accounted for around one third of Londoners purchasing a property further afield in this year
According to Hamptons, this figure has more than doubled since 2013 with London-based first-time homeowners buying 17,680 properties beyond the M25.
And despite fewer moving to the quaint countryside, Londoners are moving further afield when they do, according to the estate agent.
On average city-dwellers are relocating 33.1 miles outside of London, up by one-fifth when compared to pre-pandemic levels.
However those who already own a home are venturing the furthest, settling 45.4 miles outside the capital on average in 2024.
Brentwood in Essex has seen the largest increase in London homeowners, with nearly half of homes sold this year going to urbanites.
Other locations have also seen a huge increase in Londoners setting up their new bases including Colchester, Rushmoor and Epsom & Ewell.
The local authority which saw the biggest boom in buyers from the city – outside the South of England – was Wychavon in West Midlands.
Blackpool has also had an uptick of London-based home buyers compared to 2019, but Hamptons said this is due to investment property purchases.
Despite fewer moving to the quaint countryside, Londoners are moving further afield when they do, estate agent Hamptons has said
| Local Authority | Region | 2019% | 2024% | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brentwood | East of England | 23% | 47% | 24% |
| Rushmoor | South East | 7% | 25% | 18% |
| Colchester | East of England | 10% | 27% | 18% |
| Epsom and Ewell | South East | 58% | 74% | 16% |
| Tonbridge and Malling | South East | 12% | 26% | 14% |
| Huntingdonshire | East of England | 6% | 18% | 13% |
| Chelmsford | East of England | 14% | 24% | 10% |
| North Hertfordshire | East of England | 12% | 21% | 9% |
| Mole Valley | South East | 26% | 35% | 9% |
| Swale | South East | 10% | 19% | 9% |
The average gross yield on a new buy-to-let purchase in Blackpool reached 10.1 percent this year, compared to 5.7 percent in London.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons said: ‘Looking ahead, we expect an uptick in London out-migration numbers next year as the capital’s property market begins to pick up as mortgage rates edge down further.
‘This could encourage a generation of more recent homeowners who have been restrained for a decade by limited or no price growth in the capital to make their move.
‘However, with mortgage rates likely to remain above historic levels, movers are likely to continue looking further afield to secure the home they could have afforded in the Home Counties a decade ago.’